Questions from those curious about user experience as an industry and career. Follow this basic FAQ to learn how to get started in UX.

UX, or user experience, encompasses all the things that occur to a user when she is interacting with a product, system or experience. User experience design is the practice of affecting the this experience through research, analysis and design of the touchpoints involved in a system.

User experience is a multidisciplinary field that involves a variety of skills: read this list of UX topics all beginners should know.

Check out the UX glossary for a definition of the most important UX terms.

A career in user experience design is essentially a career in technology. It's a good start if you're interested in working in tech, for tech companies and building digital products on the web.

Secondly, UX beginners should know that user experience is an interdisciplinary field spanning a variety of skillsets. Some UX professionals may be more concerned with developing and coding user interfaces, whereas other professionals want to focus on user research. To pursue a career in UX is to pursue a career that's ambiguous, ever-changing, and exciting.

We answer this question with a few guiding questions (which can be applied to just about any field...

1. Have you done your homework?

How much do you already know about UX? What is your definition of UX as you know it? Have you looked into the rabbit hole that is getting into a UX job? How much have you read? Have you looked at job descriptions, and have you started seeking out other UX designers?

If not, this is where you should start - not at the processes, but at what you hope to achieve.

If you don't have the foggiest on that, either, then take a look at UX job descriptions. There are many free resources you can utilize (and UXB has compiled quite a few of them for you).

2. Why do you want to start a career in UX?

Consider your goals and what you are willing to do to get into this career. Be realistic about them, too: if you think that you can become a UX designer in 10 weeks, consider how plausible that would be in relation to your current skill set.

Take a look at what you'd be learning and whether the curriculum really has the full set of skills to utilize. (If you're not sure what the "full set of skills" is, please refer to the above paragraph and talk to someone in the industry). It isn't just being able to wireframe and prototype. It's knowing when to utilize them according to the branch of UX design you've chosen to pursue.

Processes are fun to learn, but remember that they're things you're learning and may not be great at yet. If you're having fun learning about site maps and user journeys, by all means, keep going! But don't get sucked into getting the details right away.

Be sure you can answer when and why you'd use the tools in the first place. Creating personas and a wireframe and a high-definition prototype does not a UX project make. It's the thinking behind using those that makes UX a professional career.

Because everyone has different learning styles, the trick for the beginning UX designer is to find a method of learning that suits you.

Here's a curated list of lists to different resources for gathering UX knowledge:

While coding isn't a required skill to have, it's certainly worth knowing at least the basics.

You may be in charge of a design document in the future, and you will have to give the developers your detailed information on what you would like them to build. It also helps to know how much is too much: if you see your design may be consuming a lot of resources, be it the developer's time or the time it takes to load the page, you can see where you should ease back.

User experience means having a strong empathy with your users. But what if you could apply it to the people you're working with? Being able to have an idea of what is technically feasible for your devs will make life easier for both of you.

It's also good to remember that some UX practitioners work solely in the earlier stages of design, or work in content strategy, and may never need to work with a developer. This is why it's suggested that you take a look into what you would like to be doing so that you don't feel like you're studying way too many things that you may never use.

If you already have a background in a related field, adding UX to your resume isn't a bad idea. For better or worse, many employers are still working out what they want when they say they want a UX/UI designer. You may find that people will want to hire you for your graphic design skills even though they asked for UX. This is fine, but don't take this to mean that you shouldn't keep studying and honing your craft. Ultimately, your skillset will be much more valuable when you can explain and back up your designs with research.

(These opinions were formulated after speaking with several hiring managers across different competencies.)

It's still possible, and requires a mix of education, networking, and crafting your portfolio.

The better question to ask is: what does this industry look like realistically in my age category?

To go about answering that question...find someone who is in a similar position.

They might not be in exactly the same mindset as you are right now, but they will have experience in the field you're interested in, and they can give you valuable insights. They can address your concerns that you may not feel comfortable with asking someone in a different part of their journey.

Invalidate the thinking that this is impossible because of your age, or anything else holding you back.

What's happens after landing that first UX design job? This section concerns questions around growing and managing your career as a UX designer.

The two most common career paths for the UX designer is to continue to grow technical expertise and become a subject matter expect, or go up the ranks in design management. I explore this common "fork" between the two paths in Two Common UX Career Paths.

Let me save you potential pain and embarrassment: many younger designers approach mentors the wrong way. They start off the relationship by asking a busy professional for help looking over their portfolio or resume.

While some kind UX veterans do lend a hand, this approach is largely effective.